Dental Practice Advice and The Real Cost of Dental CE

In my dental practice advice series, lets talk about the Real Cost of Dental CE

Dental CE is great. It’s the path that unlocks all kinds of ways to serve your patients better IF it’s thought through. Most dentists don’t think anything through carefully regardless of whether it’s CE or not. That’s the simple truth–wish it wasn’t but it is what it is.

When it comes to CE, most dentists really don’t understand what they are paying for, getting, or will ever use based on the structure they have back in their in-practice systems and their chosen level of leadership.  Yes, better leaders do far MORE dentistry.  Lousy leaders do one tooth dentistry even with massive CE levels.

Ultimately, there are only two types of CE.  One is world class handing the doctor tools that are quite valuable (if the tools get to be used) and there’s all the rest. Most in the profession choose “all the rest” as a default option and their skill levels show it.

Examples of “world class” courses include those conducted by Kois, Misch, Spear, LVI, etc. If you aren’t taking courses at that level, then you’re better served not traveling at all and simply doing all your CE online and at the most minimal cost since the ability to learn something well enough to put it into clinical use via a lesser level of training (not world class) is nearly impossible.

Now that the bar has been set, for those considering or in the midst of pursuing “world class,” let’s look at the economic costs of attending such to set the tone for how important other aspects unrelated to the actual course are to make up for the investment.

As I believe that Kois’ Treatment Planning I course all by itself would transform the entire profession ( My dental practice advice to the ADA is that they should buy it on DVD and send it to every practicing dentist) let’s talk specifically about the cost of attendance for that particular course.

Here’s the breakdown for a dentist in Knoxville traveling to Seattle for the 3 day course:
$280 Current airfare (cheap in the rainy/crappy winter time of year)
$650 Hotel with taxes
$150 Food/sundries
$5395 Course fee
$2000 Minimum opportunity cost (no income for two days out of clinic)

$6475 MINIMUM total cost. If you like flying direct, first class, staying at better hotels, or have a greater minimum opportunity cost when you are away from work, you can adjust the minimum total cost appropriately.

It’s expensive AND it’s valuable when the doctor’s leadership, ability to promote, and team and doctor ability to ethically and systematically sell are all in place as a part of taking such a course.

In fact, only when those 3 planets are aligned does it make sense to put resources of this magnitude into play.   John has NINE courses……you can do the math.

Knowing the minimum total cost on this, it’s amazing that the first step on the path to better clinical skills isn’t one in which a foundation of ethical selling for elective services is laid first.  Everything taught in world class courses are elective and mostly outside the reimbursement systems.  In other words, you have to find the patient who needs/wants and then discuss treatment in ways that make sense for buying. My program members follow this dental practice advice and have marketing and selling systems in place to sell their niche dentistry.

In an age, where online education exists for such a thing (solid, ethical, selling foundations)…….one either gets smart on this or stays really DUMB….

Which is it for you?

If you want to know more about how my members do so well check out my top selling book on Amazon.